The Problem With Rockstar Employees and Why a Smart System Fails

Ty Kiisel
, ContributorI write about small business and small business financingOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

PHP Rock Stars (Photo credit: RichardBowen)

I used to be a Michael Gerber fan.

The whole concept behind the idea that a smart system could be leveraged to replace smart employees, as espoused in the E-Myth seemed to make sense. And it does to a point, but I’m not convinced that any system will replace what Seth Godin calls a Linchpin employee.

Earlier this month, Lendio founder and CEO Brock Blake talked about what it takes to attract rockstar talent—something many of us would agree is critical if we want to build organizations that thrive, products that resonate, and industry dominance. Companies like Hubspot, Evernote, and my company Lendio, all understand that it’s individual employees that really make it happen. Companies that struggle seem to forget that.

Gerber’s ideas were appealing to me because I didn’t want to feel as if I was a hostage to a prima donna type rockstar. I was afraid. Not knee-knocking fear, but fear that I wouldn’t be able to base any kind of expansion on a linchpin-type employee. I don’t think I was alone; many small business owners probably have the same fear that rockstars are prima donnas. I don’t believe they are (OK, I know some who are, but not all of them), but an organization of rockstars does change the way we deal with the people we work with.

You Don’t “Manage” Rockstars: Rockstars demand leadership. Of course they might not come out and say it in those terms, but the quickest way to lose your rockstar talent is to try to “manage” them—what’s more, you don’t want to. The linchpin-type people your organization needs to produce products and services that will change the world want to contribute to something that is bigger than they are. And, they want a leader who can share a vision to that end and inspire them to accomplish things they’ve never been able to do before. They also want a leader who empowers them with ownership, doesn’t make knee-jerk reactions, and accepts the occasional failure as a learning experience.

Rockstars Fail, Get Used to It: Failures happen. What’s more, you want them to happen. Rockstars don’t play it safe as they push the outside of the envelope. They’re always working to make their products better or the services they offer more relevant. They aren’t content to follow best practices—they want to create them. What’s more, if you’re in a highly competitive industry, you want them pushing the envelope as much as they can. Failure is a part of discovery. On the way to inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” If you want to play it safe, you probably shouldn’t hire a rockstar.

You’ll Need to Cut the Dead Wood: Rockstars like working with other rockstars. Most people want to be rockstar, a success, someone who becomes a linchpin. It’s often our failure as leaders when they don’t. We fail to inspire, we fail at articulating what a rockstar performance is, or we don’t create an environment where people can perform at their best—in fact, the way we “manage” them can kill that desire in short order. In those rare instances when people can’t or won’t perform at a higher level, to keep our linchpins, we need to weed out the non-performers. It can be a real morale killer when a top performer is always asked, or required, to pinch-hit for someone who consistently doesn’t perform.

You’ll Need to Step Up Your Own Game Too: Over the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to work with some very talented young rockstars. They have many talents I certainly don’t have, are anxious to make a difference, excited to contribute to worthwhile efforts, and aren’t willing to let me sit on my keester basking in past glories. To lead an organization of rockstars, you’ve got to be at the top of your game. You’ve got to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. You need to show up and perform too.

As Gerber suggested, creating a smart system is probably a lot easier than relying on rockstar talent. It allows you to plug in mediocre employees who, by leveraging the system, can perform a little better. Unfortunately, those aren’t the organizations that make products or provide services that stand out and make a difference. What’s more, those companies wind up irrelevant in the marketplace at best, or part of the statistics of companies that fail every year at worst.

There are challenges associated with hiring (and keeping) rockstars, but they are well worth the extra effort.